Progressive/Groove/Death Metal band SECREUM formed in the UK in 2011. Through some line-up changes, the release of their debut album was delayed for some time. Adding two new members in 2020, they released their debut EP titled "Embrace," which contains five tracks. The short instrumental "Perception" leads off the album. Grand symphonic elements open the sort track, with ominous and regal tones. It segues into "Trapped from Within," which begins with heavy Progressive rhythms and harsh vocals. Clean vocals come in at the chorus with a bit of harmony. Towards the end, a heavy groove develops with some lead guitar.

"Contrarian Mind" is a shorter song with lots of intensity. The meter shifts back and forth between a heavy, weighted passage and a faster moving one with some dissonance. The clean vocals are a nice change of pace. The title track displays some of the band's musicianship. The clean vocal passages almost remind me of some of the bands from the Grunge movement in 1991...that hollow, drawn out sound that speaks of disenfranchised youth and the battle over your inner demons.

The seven-minute "Behind the Mirror" closes the album. A heavy groove develops, and turns into a raucous taunt. The clean vocals offer a reprieve from the weighted sound, but they are short lived. Just after the half-way mark, there is a transition to more straightforward sounds, with meaty bass notes and some lead guitar. The song lingers for just a bit too long after that, before moving to a powerful ending.

The band is at their best when they are ramming the harsh and weighted passages down your throat. I almost think that the clean vocals are not even necessary, though they do provide a brief pause to the intensity of the harsh vocals. The album could use a little more shifting here and there as well as some more diversity. But, this was a pretty good first effort from the band, as well as a good production job, and they know have a base to build upon.